


Run For Your Life

by khd14



Series: Hadley + Professor Armitage [2]
Category: British Actor RPF, Professor Armitage - Fandom, Richard Armitage - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Authors, Explicit Language, F/M, New York City, Professors, Sexual Content, Smut, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-15 20:29:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3460994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khd14/pseuds/khd14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Professor Armitage is in his second year of teaching at Columbia University, and Hadley is currently writing her sixth novel. This story takes place as they re-evaluate their relationship, concentrating on what they really want for each other; as well as dealing with their current misgivings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I thank you for your continued support! Enjoy this newest installment of Hadley + Richard, as their adventures are only just beginning...

*****

"It's your turn." Richard chuckled as soon as the words fell from his lips. "Hadley, I know you're awake. You’re a terrible impostor."

Hadley's eyes remained tightly closed, her breaths never swaying. "Still asleep."

"Hadley." That certain sigh grew warm on her shoulder blade as he wrapped his arms around her tighter, drawing her in so closely that her spine nearly fused to his chest.

"Richard." Her tone mimicked his in the worst way, to which he could only rolled his eyes. She always had a way of performing something so irritating that only made him want her even more.

"Someone has to put the kettle on." He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, his kisses accelerating as he moved towards the nape of her neck.

She moaned softly. "Don't they make automatic ones?"

"We've been here for a year, Hadley, and we have had this conversation almost every single morning."

"As soon as one of us gets out of this warm and ever so inviting bed, we're going to start complaining about how cold it is, which will lead to the conversation about turning up the thermostat, which will lead to the conversation about me preferring to stay cool when I sleep, which will lead to the conversation about you suggesting to put a fan in the room, which will lead to the conversation about who will come in and install it,"

"Okay, okay." Richard laughed. "I get it. Or, you know, we have been here a year now... so... maybe we can start looking for a bigger place?"

She sighed heavily and turned onto her back. "You mean you don't want to stay in this tiny two bedroom apartment for the rest of our lives?"

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure this place is the size of your old master suite in Austin." He gave her an encouraging smile. "I know you've been busy writing, which I am so proud of, but this place is cramped. I think we'd both enjoy a little more space, don't you think?"

“Space.” She rolled her eyes at the word. “We’re in New York, Richard, where space is only at a premium.”

He chuckled. “I think we can manage. Now, come, we can both get up. How about, you start the shower and I’ll get the kettle going?”

She scrunched her nose at him. “How can you make something so tedious sound so sexy?”

“It’s because I’m British, we can make just about anything sound sexy.” An eyebrow rose suggestively. “As in, get your arse in the shower before I have to throw you in myself.”

*****

"So, you seriously want me to go out in this dreadful weather to look for new apartments?" Hadley brought the steaming mug of tea to her lips and carefully took a sip.

Richard laughed. "Hadley, I don't know if you realize this or not, but there's this thing called the internet, and you can look things up on it. Like, oh, I don't know, New York City real estate,"

She took the nearest item of convenience - this time it happened to be a one third written manuscript of her newest novel - and chucked it at his head. "Don't get cute, Richard. It's too early for that."

"I'm serious, Hadley. You can go through the places, see what you like, see what you don't like." He picked up the document from the floor with a chuckle and placed it back on the kitchen table. "And, if you're that adamant about not going out in this god forsaken weather, I'll go look at the ones you like and if I feel like you'd enjoy them, then you can come out and look. Does that sound like a better idea?"

She nodded her head intently. “Now those are terms I can agree to.”

*****

"Just look at this one,"

Hadley grumbled to herself as she listened to Richard's excited pleas advancing down the hallway. "Ugh, Richard, I'm right in the middle of something." She continued typing against the MacBook keyboard quickly, her gaze never breaking from the screen in front of her.

"Like I said, just look at it," Richard slid next to her on the bed, his laptop grasped firmly in his hands. "I'll wait, though," He added quickly after she threw him a sideways glance.

"I just need to finish this thought..." She smacked his head away from her screen before hastily returning her fingers to the keyboard. “You know that I hate it when you do that.”

Richard sighed. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m just curious as to what this is about exactly.” As she began to open her mouth, he quickly spat, “Other than saying, it’s a murder mystery.” He chuckled as she quickly closed her lips. “That’s what I thought.”

She rolled her eyes as she saved the document quickly and shut the computer. “Alright, Richard, I,” Her eyes grew wide as he shoved the computer in front of her face. "Ohhh, those floors..."

He smiled widely. "See? I knew you’d love it."

“Is it weird that I’m mildly attracted to the floors? I mean, just look at them. Gorgeous, and original…”

He chuckled. “Your weirdness never ceases to amaze me, love. But, that’s why I brought it to you, I just had a certain feeling.”

“How many bedrooms?” She began clicking through the rest of the photos.

“Two. Quite spacious, too. There’s a study off the kitchen and the living room is big enough to put a desk in it for one of us, if needed.”

She chuckled. “Look at you, planning this out before we've even had the chance to look at it.”

He nodded his head. “Exactly,” He pointed to multiple photos and exclaimed, “I can plan taking you here, and here, and here, and there, oh, and especially there…”

*****


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy. :)

*****

Slowly making his way into the apartment, Richard peeled off his overcoat and slipped it onto the back of one of the dining room chairs along with his leather messenger bag. The apartment, of course, was freezing, and he just knew that by the end of the night it would somehow feel even colder. This was the time that he ached to be living somewhere closer to campus, somewhere with a fireplace, somewhere… different.

Boxes of their belongings still stood in the foyer, the corner of the living room, and the bottom of the closets, begging to be torn through and freed from their misery. It had been a few weeks since he had mentioned the possibility of finding a new apartment, and he had told himself, that would be the last. He didn’t want Hadley to feel as if he were attempting to push her into a situation that was met with regret and disapproval, but as the past year had droned on, he knew it would be anything but.

His footsteps echoed down the dark hallway, and it was then that he decided to up the thermostat, regardless of how she liked to sleep at night. Yet, he knew that she wasn’t sleeping, and was only writing due to a nervous response from everything that she had gone through the past year. It was difficult for her, he knew that, but he just didn’t know what else to do.

Leaning up against the doorway into the master suite, he let out a soft sigh as he watched her, curled up on her side in the middle of their bed. Her feet were bare, and he knew that by the time she woke up, she would be freezing, regardless of what she told him otherwise. He grabbed a chenille throw from the end of the bed and draped it over her legs, deciding at the last minute to join her in her supposed slumber, but as he knew her inside and out, he knew that she wasn’t asleep.

“Just listen to it,” Hadley murmured, grabbing his hand as he wrapped it around her waist. “It’s a fine little melody, isn’t it?”

Richard smiled softly as he closed his eyes, concentrating on the little droplets of ice that pelted against the window frantically. “It is,” He planted a kiss on the side of her neck.

“Your hands are freezing,” She lifted his hand to her lips, where she showered the masculine skin with kisses. “It’s turning frightful out there, isn’t it?”

He sighed. “It is. I forgot my gloves in my office, which of course I didn’t realize until I got onto the train.”

“You don’t have anything on your schedule tomorrow, do you?” She turned onto her back, finally resting her gaze onto his.

He shook his head slowly. “Other than a few papers to grade, I don’t have much going on.”

“Good.”

He furrowed his brows. “Good? Should I be worried?”

She chuckled. “No. I decided to set up some appointments, and,”

“Appointments?”

“Yes, appointments,” She turned towards him, laying a hand on his chest. “I’ve found a few apartments that I want to go look at.”

“I’m impressed, Miss Faraday.” He smiled at her. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me, haven’t you?”

She chuckled. “Secrets? Don’t be ridiculous, professor. I’d never do such a thing.” She pressed her lips to his, and laid a delicate kiss against the supple skin. “Jack mentioned that we should go ahead and put this apartment on the market. He said that he could come up for a little while, to get it prepped and everything, if that’s something that you’d be okay with.”

He nodded his head against the pillow and smiled at her. “Absolutely.” He pulled her close and planted a light kiss on her forehead. “How are you feeling today?”

She breathed a deep sigh. “Very tired. I just can’t seem to catch my breath it seems.”

He bit his bottom lip as the worrisome thoughts continued to grow heavier. “Do we need to go back to the hospital?”

“No,” She chuckled, pressing her hand against the button placard of his shirt. “I’ve spent enough time there this year. My doctor said there would be days like this, so, with the weather, I kind of expected it.”

“Precisely the reason we need a fireplace.”

She chuckled. “That too.”

*****

“So, if I may ask, what changed your mind?” Richard took a bite of the shrimp and grits in the bowl in his hands and leaned back onto the suede couch. “About the apartment, I mean.”

Hadley smiled softly and set the glass of wine down on the table next to her. “You did.”

“I did?” He furrowed his brows tightly.

“Yeah, you.” She turned towards him, wrapping the blanket around her bare legs. “It’s been on my mind, you know, it just didn’t seem… that important at the time. But, one morning, I was watching you get ready for the day, and it seemed as if everything was… everywhere. You were running around from the closet to the bathroom to the living room, and you didn’t mind one bit, but… I did.”

“Oh, Hadley.” He leaned over and kissed her before returning to his dinner. “I don’t ever want you to feel as if I’m pushing you to do this, which is why I stepped back from the situation. You know that I love you and you know that I’m going to continue to live here with you, griping or not, I’m not going anywhere. But it is nice to know that you do see things such as that, especially when I know of how hard it is for you to pick up on them.”

She nodded her head slowly. “I’m learning.” She tilted her head towards her shoulder as she watched him devour the meal. “I had a weird dream the other night.”

“Hmm? What about?” He dropped the spoon into the bowl and set the dirty dishes on the coffee table in front of him before resting his arm and hand on her legs.

“I,” She cleared her throat nervously. “I was pregnant, and, we were living in Austin.”

Richard slowly turned towards her, his eyebrows rising on his forehead. She hadn’t even spoke the “p” word since last summer, when her ectopic pregnancy had not only landed her in the hospital but became the root of all her health problems this year. “Really?” He honestly couldn’t believe that was the word that came to mind. After she nodded her head in response, he breathed a sigh. “How did that make you feel?”

She smacked his bicep with a flick of her wrist. “Don’t talk to me like a therapist,”

He chuckled. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

She smiled at him before continuing her thoughts. “We were happy, and excited. It was a girl, and, you were over the moon.”

He pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead gently. “I would’ve been, love, I promise. To have a little girl who looks just like you… it would’ve been a dream come true,”

She nuzzled her cheek deeper into his chest. “I still feel like it’s my fault, as if I did something wrong to cause it. And I know that I’ve always said I’ve never wanted kids, but after being that close, and thinking about where we’d be right now if that didn’t happen…”

“But you can’t dwell in the past, love, remember? All the work we’ve done to get you through to the present moment? I know it’s been difficult, but I can’t risk losing you again to thoughts of the past,”

She raised her head, averting her gaze to his. “I know, and I’m not. It’s easy to think about it because it happened to me. Not to you, but to me. All I’m saying, Richard Armitage, is that I want to have your babies. Not right now, not next month, but… eventually.”

The corners of his lips curled into a devious smirk, his eyes sparkled with an intensity she hadn’t witnessed in weeks. “Then let’s start practicing…”

*****

“Mmm,” Hadley scrunched her nose tightly as she stood in the middle of yet another prospective kitchen. “I just don’t know.” She leaned up against the marble countertop and crossed her arms against her chest.

Richard stood across from her and mimicked her actions. “It’s so… small.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked around the tiny room. “We could knock that wall out, expand the kitchen out into the dining room. It could work, but, I think we both really detest the idea of projects in the middle of winter.”

“Projects period.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re always going to take longer, require more money…”

“So, then, we’ll just pay a little more for move in ready.” He dropped his arms and took a step towards her. “Besides, we would kill each other trying to maneuver through this kitchen together.”

She chuckled. “And when are we ever going to be maneuvering through a kitchen together?”

“Is it so wrong that I dream of coming home to find you cooking me a nice, romantic dinner?” He dropped his arms and connected his hands to her waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

“Does taking your nice, romantic dinner out of take out boxes count?”

*****


	3. Chapter 3

*****

“Were you able to speak with Hadley?”

Richard turned towards the smooth, gentle voice standing in the doorway of his office and forced a smile. “Um, well, I actually haven’t been able to… She just finished her latest novel and it’s been a whirlwind of emotions, really.” He pointed towards the armchair across from his desk and rose from his own chair. “Please, sit.”

Running a hand through her shoulder length, perfectly coiffed white hair, Lila Archibald reluctantly dropped into the leather chair. “I apologize for intruding, once again…” She trailed off, staring at the immaculate polish coating her nails.

“You have to understand something, Mrs. Archibald. Hadley is… delicate, in more ways than one. I cannot just… tell her that her maternal grandmother is here and wants to meet her. I just can’t… at least, not yet.”

“Right, of course… I understand. It’s a difficult transition, I’m sure.” She smiled softly as she opened her handbag and pulled out an elegant ivory envelope. “If you happen to change your mind… my husband and I are having a dinner party in a few weeks. He was a professor here at Columbia, a very long time ago.” She paused, pursing her lips nervously. “And we’d love it if you both could attend.”

Richard, reaching for the envelope, nodded slowly as he took the invitation into his hands. “Thank you, Mrs. Archibald,” He began, taking a deep breath. “I will certainly let you know if we’ll be attending or not.”

_God… what was he going to tell Hadley?_

*****

_for those who spend their entire lives_

_questioning their existence_

Penning the final words on the novel’s dedication page, Hadley breathed a heavy sigh filled with relief, anxiety, and somehow… gratification. The Dead House was finally complete, and in a moment that should have been dripping with restfulness, she felt a massive amount of terror.

Now that her latest novel was concluded, she was equally apprehensive about sending it to her editor for a final analyzation. Putting her work into someone else's hands to judge and critique was always an intimidating factor, regardless of how many times she had done it before.

These were her words, her ideas, her thoughts… not someone else’s to move around and forget their place.

“Hadley,” Richard’s voice startled her as he made his way down their hallway, his gaze focused completely on her. “Stop worrying.” He declared, leaning his shoulder up against the doorway of the bedroom.

She ached for him, his touch, his warmth… But he seemed to be in such a different world than she was at the current moment. She needed to be held, to be praised… or hell, maybe she didn’t. Maybe her therapist was right, maybe it was time for her to stop being so… dramatic.

“Right,” Hadley responded, shaking her head from side to side, dropping her stare to the keyboard of her laptop. She saved the document once again - in three different places, of course - and turned the computer off, shoving it into the shelf of the nightstand.

“How about some... celebratory wine?” He inquired, flicking his eyebrows devilishly, igniting the gleam in his eyes.

_There he was._

“I will never say no to that,” She replied, furrowing her eyebrows as she watched him make his way towards her, finally dropping to the edge of the bed beside her.

She knew that she hadn’t been the easiest of people to deal with over this past year, and had ended up neglecting Richard in some of the worst ways. She wanted to be able to surprise him with something special, to not only show her appreciation but make him feel as if the sacrifice was worth it, not only to him but to them as a couple.

Which, of course, Richard was one of the most difficult men to buy gifts for. Sure, you could always go the easy route and buy him some clothes - _which they didn’t have the room for_ , or bottles of wine - _which they didn’t have the room for_ , or books - _which they certainly didn’t have the room for_.

She knew that he would want something personal - something meaningful - something special. Maybe that’s why he was acting so strange… maybe he was feeling a bit _too_ neglected.

“How was your day?” Hadley inquired, silently hoping that the simple question would make him spill everything, regardless of how she was feeling at the moment.

Richard produced a heavy sigh, shaking his head slowly. Now is definitely not the time to tell her, His thoughts raged inside of his head. “It was… bizarre, actually.”

_Bizarre?_

Gripping the tail of his navy blue silk tie, she began to pull him closer, anticipating him to finish… which, of course, he couldn’t help but to lean closer towards her, cradling her head in his hands and pressing his lips to hers.

“Bizarre, you say?” She raised an eyebrow as he pulled his lips away and instead drew her to his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

“Yes, bizarre.” He kissed her again. “But, right now, I just want you all to myself…”

Hadley chuckled, nibbling nervously on her lower lip. “Happily.”

*****

“Remember, love, we have quite a busy week…” Richard grimaced prematurely, expecting not just a scoff to fall from her lips but a snippy rhetoric as well. She always hated to be reminded of things, regardless if she had forgotten them or not.

“Really, Richard?” Hadley sighed heavily and rolled her eyes as she continued standing underneath the rain shower of warm water, cascading down the top of her head all the way to the tips of her toes.

Chuckling, he shook his head playfully. “Yes, really, Hadley.” He peeled the t-shirt from his torso and tossed it into the laundry bin by the door, successfully, which was a surprise to them both. “Dinners, therapists, meetings…”

“So… we’re having dinner with the, um, Milton’s tomorrow night, right?” Hadley furrowed her brows tightly as she attempted to remember their schedule, immediately realizing that she had misplaced one of the two details.

Richard chuckled as he pulled back the side of one curtain to give her that “ _now, now_ ” look he had always grown so accustomed to. “It’s the Morton’s, and it’s the day after tomorrow.”

Friday, _of course_. “Oh, right.” She glanced over at him and scrunched her nose tightly. “Minor details, babe.” She leaned over and kissed his lips softly.

“Minor details, of course,” He rolled his eyes playfully.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Now, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join me?”

“In just a moment.” He winked at her as he pulled the curtain closed, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny to find the clean towels he swore he just put in there… “I have an idea,” He admitted, grimacing yet again. “How about next weekend we take a trip to Austin? You could spend some time with Jack, we could get out of this dreadful weather…”

Maybe it was exactly what they needed - a getaway, just the two of them… “That actually sounds quite pleasant.”

Richard couldn’t help but to chuckle. _As if his ideas weren’t always pleasant…_ “Great. I’ll take care of all the details.”

_As per usual…_

Grabbing two of the freshly laundered, still warm towels, he laid them against the sink and pulled the shower curtain back. “Now… where were we?”

*****


End file.
